For Beauty is Found Within
by The Controlled Chaos
Summary: Casshern, the Prince with no love in his heart, transformed into a hideous beast. Ventus, the son of an Inventor who seeks adventure outside of his provincial town. When their paths cross, can they learn to love one another in time to break the spell and transform Casshern and his servants back to normal? Ported from my AO3 account. VenxCass. Beauty and the Beast 3-way fusion fic.


HELLO READERS!

So this is what I'm giving to you guys while I start to finish (Start to finish, lol!...I need a life...) Breaking Point. Have you ever had an idea for a fan fiction and thought 'You know what? This is so crazy that it just might work!'? Well, this is one of those. I've been roleplaying as Ventus for a little under a year with the most amazing Casshern. They really are a great match for each other and instantly became my crossover OTP. I've wanted to write this for the longest time and I'm so happy that I'm taking the time to finally do it. I'll be adding a few elements from our rp into this fic to change it up and make it a little unique. I hope you enjoy it and if you spot a mistake that was overlooked, feel free to let me know.

* * *

_Once upon a time in a faraway land, a young Prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the Prince was spoiled, selfish and unkind. But then, one Winter's night, an old beggar woman came to the castle._

_"Please," She said, extending a single rose in her hand to the Prince, "Take this rose in exchange for shelter from the bitter cold."_

_"I don't need your rose!" The Prince sneered at the gift. Repulsed by her haggard appearance, he turned her away._

_But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. The Prince paid no heed to what she had told him and dismissed her again, turning his back on her. When he did that, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful Enchantress, dressed in magnificent white gown and with hair the color of gleaming emeralds._

_The Prince tried to apologize but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart. And as punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there._

_His appearance wasn't the only thing the Enchantress placed a spell on. She strengthened the presence of his loveless heart coupled with his aggressive rage within his mind to further remind him of the deceit his heart had caused him and the inhabitants of the castle._

_Ashamed of his monstrous form, the Beast concealed himself inside his castle with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom until his 21st year. If he could learn to love another and earn their love in return by the time the last petal fell, then the spell would be broken. If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time._

_As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever learn to love a beast?_

* * *

Far away from the castle, there was a little town. It was peaceful and quiet with its inhabitants content with their day-to-day routines that saw little to no change. Waking up, butchering, baking, selling their goods to other people. There was no excitement at all. However, there was one boy there who felt that this lifestyle was dull and boring so he found adventure in the books he borrowed from the bookshop in the town and he was on his way to get another one.

The boy's boots clicked against the path as he walked from his house into the centre of the town, where the bookshop was. In his hand, he had a book that needed to be returned. He brushed some of stray golden hair out of his stunning blue eyes. The town just seemed to be waking up as the baker walked along with his tray of bread to sell.

"Good morning, Ventus!" The baker said with a smile as he walked along.

"Good morning, Monsieur!" He grinned as he caught up to him.

"Where are you off to?" He asked as he set his tray down at his store's windowsill.

"To the bookshop!" Ventus held the book up for the baker to see, "I just finished the most wonderful story, about a beanstalk and an ogre and-"

"That's nice," The baker replied, ignoring Ventus' description of the story. Instead he leaned into the window and called, "Marie! The baguettes! Hurry up!"

Ventus just smiled and shrugged it off. He continued his walk to the bookstore, completely oblivious to the stares and whispers from the other townsfolk. They all thought Ventus was strange. Whether it was because of his reading hobby or if it was because he was the son of Cid, the local Inventor, he was considered an oddball by the townspeople.

The tiny bell over the door of the bookshop as Ventus walked in. A tiny boy with light indigo hair turned to greet the blond.

"Ah, Ven!" Ienzo smiled.

"Good morning, Ienzo," Ventus beamed. He knelt down and held the book out for the smaller boy, "I've come to return the book I borrowed."

"Finished already?" Ienzo's eyes went wide as he set it on the table.

"I couldn't put it down! Hey, shouldn't your parents be here with you?"

"Even invited them out to lunch so they asked me to watch the bookshop for them."

"I see," Ventus smiled and ruffled the younger boy's hair. He walked over to the bookshelf and climbed the ladder next to it. He made sure to steady himself as it had wheels on the bottom and was connected to a track. He moved his finger across the books as he looked, "Have you got anything new?"

"Not since yesterday," Ienzo laughed as he watched his family's most frequent customer.

"That's all right. I'll pick…" Ventus scanned the books in front of him one last time before picking up a blue one from the shelf, "This one!" He turned around with a smile and handed it to Ienzo.

"That one?" The boy chuckled, "But you've read it twice!"

"Well, it's my favorite!" Ventus grinned as he pushed himself down the track on the ladder, "Far off places, daring sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise!"

"Well," Ienzo handed him the book, "If you like it all that much, it's yours!"

"But, Ienzo-" Ventus began but the smaller boy raised his hand to cut him off.

"I insist," He smiled. He took a step back so Ventus wouldn't be able to hand the book back to him.

"Well, thank you!" He grinned as he turned towards the door, "Thank you very much!"

Ventus opened the book and started to read. As he made his way out the door, he didn't notice the men and women staring at him through the window. When he finally left the store, they turned away as not to be caught. Apart from his love of books, Ventus had something else he was known for: His looks. While he didn't have the muscular physique that would have labeled him as handsome, he features were more delicate and boyish. And that had every head turning his way as he walked passed.

Ventus stopped for a small break and sat at the fountain in the middle of the town. He kept reading and pet a few stray sheep that the local Sheppard had lost. When he was rested, he began to walk back home, his nose still stuck in his book. He didn't even notice the flock of geese flying above him or the sound of the shot that sent one falling from the sky.

A larger figure was running around the ground with a sack, trying to catch the goose as it fell. When he thought he had it, he opened his sack and grinned, but it landed with a SPLAT next to him. He quickly shoved it in the sack, hoping nobody would notice and ran back to the man with the blunderbuss in his hands.

"Wow! You didn't miss a shot, Vanitas!" Pete exclaimed as he brought the sack over.

"I know," Vantias smirked, blowing the smoke away from his weapon. Acting as if Pete wasn't even there, he turned and walked off.

"No beast stands a chance against you!" Pete praised as he collected the sack and the rest of Vanitas' kills. He scrambled to catch up to the hunter, "Or person for that matter."

"It's true, Pete," Vanitas lifted up the large dog with ease, keeping him suspended by the neck in between his forearm and his bicep, "And I've got my sights set on that one!" He pointed his blunderbuss at Ventus, who had his back to the two as stopped to read in the shade for a moment

"The Inventor's son?" Pete blinked.

"He's the one! The lucky boy I'm going to marry!" He exclaimed, dropping Pete.

"But he's-"

"The most _beautiful_ boy in town!"

"I know-" Pete agreed as he tried to compose himself, only for his face to meet with the butt of Vanitas' blunderbuss as it fell for him to catch.

"And that makes him the best!" Vanitas lifted Pete back up the neck of his shirt, "And don't I deserve the best?"

"Well of course!" Pete agreed, "I mean you do, but I mean-" He tried to finish, but Vanitas dropped him on the ground.

"From the moment I saw him, met him, I said he's gorgeous and I fell," Vanitas took his blunderbuss and twirled it in his hands, "Here in this town there's only he, who's as beautiful as me," He spotted his reflection in a pot hanging from a market stand. He stood for a second and admired himself, "So I'm making plans to woo and marry Ven."

But Vanitas spent too much time staring into his reflection and didn't notice Ventus walking past him. He marched after him, ignoring all the girls who were fawning over him. He dodged carts and pushed past people but still found himself lost in the sea of people. He resorted to climbing over a roof to avoid the crowd. He triumphantly landed in front of Ventus and quickly collected himself.

"Hello, Ven," Vanitas smiled at him. Ventus looked up from his book, but didn't stop walking.

"Bonjour, Vanitas," He said with a smile before returning to his book. Vanitas was not about to be outdone by a book though, and as Ventus walked past him, he pulled it away from Ventus by the spine. Ventus, who just became irritated, turned towards the other boy.

"Vanitas, can I have my book, please?" He asked, holding out his hand.

"How can you read this?" Vanitas asked as he flipped through the pages, "There's no pictures."

Ventus just crossed his arms and shook his head, a small smile forming on his face.

"Well, some people use their imagination."

"Ven," Vanitas shut the book and waved it at Ventus. The blond made to grab it but Vantias tossed it into the mud instead, "It's about time you got your head out of those books and paid attention to more important things," Ventus made to pick it up but Vanitas got in his way, "Like me!" This speech of Vanitas' gained a few dramatic sighs from a few nearby girls.

"The whole town is talking about it," Vanitas went on. As he was talking, Ventus managed to snag the book from the mud, "It's not right for someone like you to read. Soon you'll start getting ideas, and thinking!"

"Vanitas," Ventus said as he began to wipe the mud from his book, "You are positively primeval."

"Why, thank you, Ven," Vanitas smirked, earning a stunned expression from Ventus. He wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulder, "Hey, what do you say you and me take a walk over to the tavern and have a look at my hunting trophies?" He snatched the book again and started to lead Ventus back to the tavern.

"Maybe some other time," Ventus said, trying to get his book back as they passed the group of girls.

"What's wrong with him?" Larxene asked the other two girls.

"He's crazy," Selphie waved a hand at Ventus.

"He's _gorgeous_," Naminé smiled. The other two assumed she was talking about Vanitas, but her eyes never left Ventus.

"Please, Vanitas, I can't," Ventus managed to pull his book back, holding it close to his chest as he began to walk back home, "I have to get home to help my father. Goodbye," He said as he turned away.

"Ha!" Pete jeered as he threw one of Vanitas' kills on the ground and stood on top of it to elevate himself, "That crazy old loon needs all the help he can get!"

His joke earned a hearty laugh from Vanitas, but Ventus just turned back around and glared at the two of them.

"Don't talk about my father that way!" He said angrily.

"Yeah!" Vanitas was quick to turn to Pete in a desperate attempt to cover his own hide, "Don't talk about his father that way!" He pounded his fist onto Pete's head for added emphasis.

"My father is not crazy. He's a genius!" Ventus said as an explosion came from his house. He quickly rushed home, leaving Vanitas and Pete laughing hysterically. As he laughed, Vanitas knocked Pete off of his kill and down to the ground.

Ventus rushed towards the entrance to the basement from the outside of his house. When he opened the doors, smoke flew into the air and he covered his face to try and shield himself. It didn't seem to help him as he made his way down into the basement, coughing every now and then.

"Papa?" Ventus called through the smoke.

"HOW THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN?!" Came a scream from the far side of the basement. Ventus rushed over and saw his father prying off a barrel that turned inside out and closed around his body. On the left, his father's latest invention, a machine that would cut wood, was emitting smoke, "GODDAMMIT!"

"Are you alright, Papa?" Ventus asked.

Cid turned to Ventus as he threw the barrel aside.

"I'm about ready to give up on this hunk of junk," He exclaimed. Whenever his son was around, he did his best to tone down his language. He didn't tone down his rage against the machine though as he kicked it in frustration.

"Oh, you always say that," Ventus laughed a little. He always found his father's fits of frustration a little amusing.

"I mean it this time!" Cid said, taking a step away from the machine and towards his son, "I'll never get this fu…Bone-headed contraption to work."

"Yes you will," Ventus smiled, "And you'll win first prize at the fair tomorrow."

"Hmph," Cid huffed and turned away, crossing his arms.

"And," Ventus smiled, moving in front of his father, "Become a world famous inventor."

"…You really believe that?" Cid asked with a small smile.

"I always have."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Cid exclaimed. His small smile turned into a grin as his determination returned. He moved to his creeper and rolled underneath the invention, wielding a wrench, "Hand me that dog-legged clencher."

Ventus nodded and began searching in his father's toolbox.

"So, did you have a good time in town today?" Cid asked.

"I got a new book," Ventus replied as he retrieved the dog-legged clencher and waited for his father to emerge from underneath the invention, "Papa, do you think I'm odd?"

"My son? Odd?" Cid asked as he popped out from underneath the invention, wearing a strange set of goggles over his usual ones that twisted the shape of his eyes, "Where would you get an idea like that?"

"Oh, I don't know," Ventus said as he handed the tool to his father, who went back under the invention, "It's just I'm not sure I fit in here. There's no one I can really talk to."

"I'll give you that. All the girls your age around here are bimbos," Cid snorted as he continued to tinker, "What about that Vanitas? He seems decent. And he's a handsome fellow."

"He's handsome alright," Ventus sat down on a stool near the fireplace, "And rude and conceited. Oh Papa, he's not for me."

"Well, don't you worry. Cause this new invention's gonna be the of a new life for us," Cid rolled out from underneath the machine and stood beside Ventus, "I think that's done it. Now, let's give it a try."

He pulled a lever and they both watched as smoke once again began to spill from the exhaust pipe. They crouched and braced for impact just in case something wrong happened, but this time, nothing went wrong. The energy that the invention was making travelled down to the axe, where it began to chop wood in two and send the pieces into a neat pile.

"It works!" Ventus grinned as he stood up.

"It does?" Cid watched as more logs joined the pile the invention was creating. He stood up as well, "It does!"

"You did it! You really did it!" Ventus gave his father a quick hug and returned to watching the invention work.

"Hitch up Phillipe, boy! I'm off to the fair!" Cid exclaimed. As Ventus rushed off to prepare their horse, Cid turned back to have a log smack him in the face. And with Ventus out of earshot, he was free to curse all he wanted.

* * *

"Goodbye, Papa!" Ventus waved from the house, "Good luck!"

"Goodbye, Ven!" Cid waved from atop Phillipe as the horse began to cart the invention to the fair, "And take care while I'm gone!"

Cid and Phillipe rode out of the town and down the road. They passed some farmlands as they traveled down the path. But once they crossed the bridge and into the forest, Cid reached down and moved his javelin closer to his spot on the saddle. He brought it with him in case he ran into bandits or wild animals.

"We should be there by now," Cid grumbled a few hours later as he held a lantern in one hand and a map in the other, "Maybe we missed a turn. I guess I should have taken that…Wait a minute," He rode up to a few signs that pointed him in various directions.

As he was figuring out a course, he didn't notice how frightened Phillipe had gotten. In a moment of panic, the horse tried to move them onto a brighter path. But when Cid noticed, he pulled on the reigns and stopped him.

"Let's go this way," He looked off in the other direction. It was the exact opposite of the way Phillipe was trying to take him. It was dark and foggy, and it scared the horse even more. He tried one more time to get them to go on the brighter path, but once again was stopped.

"Come on, Phillipe! It's a fucking short cut!" Cid barked, leading them down the darker path, "We'll be there in no time."

Phillipe took his time, looking all around the dark path. Even the wind was scary. But there was nothing he could do. Cid had the reigns and that meant Cid was in control. He pressed on, getting more scared with every single step.

Out of the corner of the horse's line of vision, he saw something dart across some broken trees. His eyes went wide as howls began to fill his ears. He had had enough and began to back up, hoping Cid would go the other way. Cid, however, was oblivious to Phillipe as his eyes were glued on the map, only glancing up from time to time in order compare where they were to the map.

"This can't be right. Where the hell have you taken us, Phillipe?" Cid asked as he began to look around and finally understand why the horse was so frightened. Cid pulled on the reigns to turn the horse in the other direction, "We better turn around."

But the howls got louder and scared Phillipe even more. He began to back up father and farther, trying to find out the direction they were coming from.

"Whoa," Cid said, trying to calm his horse down, "Whoa boy."

Phillipe kept backing up until the cart carrying the invention hit a hallow tree. The impact caused a family of bats to fly out and circle around Cid and Phillipe.

"Whoa! Look out! Fuck!" Cid held onto Phillipe, not wanting to fall off as the horse became more and more frantic. Phillipe charged through the cloud of bats until he was clear of them, but he didn't stop. He wanted to go home and he wanted to go now. He went so fast that Cid's map flew out of his grasp and into the wind.

"Whoa boy!" Cid yelled as Phillipe stopped just before going over a steep cliff, "Back up! Back up! Back the fuck up!" The rocks began to crumble under the horse's hooves as he rushed to move back, "Good boy, good boy. That's good, that's-back up!...Steady. Steady! Hey now. Steady…"

Once they were back on steady ground, Cid turned Phillipe back to the path. But the howls the horse had heard earlier had just grown louder, meaning whatever was making them was close. That was the last straw. He leapt up onto his back legs and neighed like crazy.

"No! Phillipe!" Cid tried one last time to calm him down, but his efforts were in vain. The horse bucked him off, sending him crashing to the ground below. The lantern that was in Cid's hand shattered and the flame was extinguished as the cart thundered over it. Phillipe rushed as fast as he could back home while the owners of the howls revealed themselves. A pair of wolves began to chase the horse, cart and all, back down the path.

Cid groaned as he picked himself up and dusted himself off. He tried his best to look around the pitch-black forest without the light from his lantern.

"Phillipe?" He whispered into the darkness, but there was no response, "Oh no…"

This was bad. Phillipe was gone, leaving him all by himself. The worst of it was his javelin was still on the saddle. He had no way out and no way to defend himself.

He heard some snarls from above him and he looked up. Three new wolves had gathered up a hill and were rushing down to him. Cid's eyes went wide as he ran as fast as he could through the forest, the wolves on his heels. Things seemed to have gone from bad to worse. Those wolves would know the forest much better than he did. He could easily wind up at a dead end and be done for, leaving poor Ventus all by himself at home.

While he ran, he lost his footing and fell down a smaller hill. When he looked up, he was in front of a black iron gate that shone in the moonlight. He rushed over to it and began to pull as hard as he could on the bars.

"HELP!" He called. He pulled even harder when he saw that the wolves had caught up to him, "IS SOMEONE THERE? HELP!"

At the last second, the gates swung open and Cid darted to the other side. He slammed the gate on the wolves just as they close in on him. One got a hold of his boot, sending him crashing down to the ground.

"LET ME GO, YOU FUCKING MUT!" Cid roared. As he rolled around to get free, his white scarf unraveled and fell from his neck. He gave a mighty tug and pulled his foot away.

Cid looked himself over to make sure he was in one piece. As he finished, he looked forward and saw a magnificent castle. His jaw dropped as his eyes traveled to the tallest tower. Lightning and thunder struck together and it began to rain heavily. He covered his head to try and stay dry as he darted to the castle door, leaving his scarf behind.

After a few knocks, the castle doors swung open. Cid stepped inside and shut the doors behind him. He didn't see anyone around so took another look around the entrance. Those doors couldn't have opened themselves.

"Hello?" He called, wrapping his arms around himself to try and warm up, "Hello?" He called a little louder.

"Old fellow must have lost his way in the woods," Came a whisper from behind Cid.

"Keep quiet!" Came another whisper but from a different voice, "Maybe he'll go away!"

"Is someone there?" Cid called, trying to find the source of the voices. But once again, he didn't see anyone. He became so focused on looking for people that he was completely oblivious to the candelabra and the clock on the table in the entrance.

"Not a word, Akos," The clock warned, still whispering, "Not one word!"

"I don't mean to intrude," Cid called again, "But I've lost my horse and I need a place to stay for the night."

"Oh Ohji, have a heart!" The candelabra hushed back.

"Shush!" Ohji covered Akos' mouth with one of his tiny hands. The annoyed candelabra responded by sticking a lit candle under his hand, causing the clock to withdraw his hand and yelp in pain.

"Of course, Monsieur, you are welcome here," Akos smiled, finally speaking at a normal volume.

"Who said that?" Cid called, picking the candelabra up from the table and looking around, still extremely confused.

Akos tapped Cid's shoulder with his candle hand, careful not to let the flame touch him, "Over here!"

Cid spun around again as he gazed into the empty entrance, "Where?"

Akos smirked and tapped Cid's head with one of his candles. Cid's eyes went wide. The tap didn't feel like a glove or a hand. It felt like metal and he knew there was only one thing that could have been. He slowly lowered the candelabra to his face, bewildered when he saw a pair of eyes and a mouth from the middle candle.

"Allo," Akos smirked.

"HOLY FUCK!" Cid yelled as he dropped the candelabra, taking a few steps back. Akos landed on the floor with a CLINK. The candelabra groaned as he stood back up while Cid had taken a step towards him, getting over his initial shock, "Incredible."

"Well, now you've done it, Akos!" Ohji said irritably as he hopped off of the table and down to the candelabra, "Splendid! This is just peachy-Aaaah!" Cid's curiosity as an Inventor had gotten the best of him and he picked up the talking clock to get a better look at it.

"How is the hell is this accomplished?" Cid asked out loud as he began to turn the clock, looking at it from all angles.

"Put me down! At once!" Ohji begged but Cid was to curious to stop as he turned the clock upside down. His fingertips brushed against the clock's feet, causing it to burst into laughter. Cid moved his fingers away and began to shake the clock, trying to listen for something shaking inside it. All of this was making Akos laugh as he watched from below, "Ow! Ah! AH!" Ohji screamed as Cid started to wind the hands on his face. But it was when Cid opened the door on his and chest and started to fiddle with the pendulum that Ohji had had enough, "Sir! Close that at once!" He took the liberty of slamming the door on Cid's fingers, "Do you mind?"

"I beg your pardon," Cid said apologetically, "It's just that I've never seen a talk…Aaahh…" Feeling a sneeze coming on, Cid covered his mouth with his other hand. When he felt that it was okay, he removed his hand only for the sneeze to come out with a mighty 'ACHOO' right into the face of Ohji. The clock began to use the hands on his face to wipe away everything so he could see again. Cid used his sleeve to wipe his nose as he shivered in the entrance.

"Oh, you are soaked to the bone, Monsieur," Akos said as he hopped in front of Cid and led him to a room off of the entrance, "Come. Warm yourself by the fire."

"Thank you," Cid sniffed and followed Akos into the other room, Ohji at his heels. But what he didn't notice was the silhouette of a large creature, glaring at them from atop an overhead walkway. The creature's cloak whipped through the air as it began to follow them.

"No, no, no! You don't know what the Master would do if he found you here!" Ohji protested, trying to pull Cid back as the doors shut behind them, "I demand that you stop right there!" But all Ohji ended up doing was falling down a small flight of stairs. He quickly recollected himself, desperate to get this stranger out of the castle before the Master discovered them.

"Oh no! Not the Master's chair!" Ohji groaned as Akos directed Cid to a massive chair in front of the fireplace. He took a step forward but a barking footstool rushed past him to join Akos and Cid, "Friender! No!" Ohji just covered his eyes, trying to will it all away, "I'm not seeing this…I am not seeing this…"

"Well, hello there, boy," Cid smiled, petting the footstool. It barked at him before propping himself under his feet. A coat rack stepped into his view, wearing a top hat and carrying a blanket. It wrapped Cid up, making sure he was warm, "What service!" He smiled at the coat rack, which tipped its hat to Cid and was off.

"Alright!" Ohji said, "This has gone far enough! I'm in charge here and-" The clock was cut off by tea tray that ran him down on its way to Cid.

"How would you like a nice cup of tea, Sir?" A white teapot with a pink lid asked as she poured tea out of her spout into a small, orange teacup, "It'll warm you up in no time."

"No!" Ohji groaned, slowly getting himself up after the incident with the tea tray, "No tea! No tea!"

The teacup carefully hopped off of the tray and into Cid's hand. The Inventor brought it to his lips and began to drink.

"Ha ha!" The teacup laughed, "His mustache tickles, Lyuze!"

"Oh!" Cid blinked and turned to cup to see its face, "Hello."

At that moment, the doors to the den burst open, causing all the servants to gaze at the doorway with fear. A chilly gust of wind flew the room and extinguished the fire. The teacup in Cid's hand jumped back to the tray behind Lyuze, who was shaking.

"Uh oh…" Came a tiny whisper from the teacup.

Cid curled up in his chair a bit in an attempt to hide. Whatever had appeared was scary enough to frighten all of the servants in the den. He didn't have his weapon with him. He wouldn't be able to fight whatever it was. He could only hope that he wouldn't be discovered.

A large shadow covered the room. Cid couldn't make out what exactly it was, but one of the things that stood out the most was the pair large of horns coming from its head. There was no way he could take something that big on without his javelin. He curled up a little more in the chair, hoping that whatever it was would go away.

"There's a stranger in here," Came a snarl that could only belong to whatever had just entered the den.

"_Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!_" Cid thought frantically, "_He knows I'm here!"_

"Master, allow me to explain," Akos piped up, "The gentleman was lost in the woods and he was cold and wet-" He tried to finish his sentence, but it was drowned out by a deafening roar that extinguished the light from his candles.

"Master," Ohji popped his head out from his hiding spot underneath the rug. "I'd like to take this moment to say...I was against this from the start. It was all his fault," He pointed at Akos, "I tried to stop them, but would they listen to me? No, n-" He tried to finish his explanation but another roar drowned out his voice and sent him back into hiding.

Cid heard whatever it was get closer. He took a look to his right and was relieved that nothing was there. But it was the complete opposite when he looked to his left. Cid didn't know where to look first. Pointed horns, jagged teeth, unkept white fur partly covered by a blood-red cloak and a pair of steel-blue eyes collectively struck terror into the Inventor's heart. Just what kind of place was this?

"Who are you?" Growled the monster, "What are you doing here?"

"I…" Cid jumped out of the chair as the monster advanced on him, "I was lost in the woods and-"

"You're not welcome here!" The monster snarled, getting closer.

"I'm sorry," Cid gulped. It seemed like it would take a miracle for him to get out of this alive.

"What are you staring at?" It barked as it rose from all fours up to his hind legs, towering over Cid.

"Nothing!" Cid shook his head profusely, trying not to make his situation any worse than it was.

"So, you've come to _stare _at the _Beast_, have you?" The Beast' eyes seemed to glow with fury as he took another step towards Cid.

Cid couldn't take it anymore. He turned and rushed towards the exit but the Beast leapt in front of him with unfathomable speed for something its size.

"Please!" Cid begged as he tried to create some distance, "I meant no harm! I just needed a place to stay!"

"I'll give you a place to stay!" The Beast roared, grabbing Cid by his shoulders and lifting him into the air.

"No!" Cid screamed, flailing about, "Please no!" But there was nothing he could do. The servants in the den could only watch as their Master hauled the man to the dungeons, slamming the doors behind him and leaving them in complete darkness.


End file.
